Question

(A) NO CHANGE (B) Court reporting-an often-overlooked occupation of legal services, is essential to trials, depositions, committee (C) Court reporting, an often-overlooked occupation of legal services is essential to trials, depositions committee (D) Court reporting, an often-overlooked occupation of legal services, is essential to trials, depositions, committee

Short answer

Option D correctly punctuates the sentence with commas around the appositive phrase.

Step-by-step solution

Identify the Sentence Structure

The sentence involves identifying the correct punctuation used to properly set off the phrase "an often-overlooked occupation of legal services." This phrase is a non-essential appositive which provides additional information about "Court reporting." Non-essential information in a sentence that can be removed without changing the fundamental meaning is usually enclosed in commas.

Analyze Option A

Option A has no commas around the appositive phrase, making it incorrect because it doesn't properly separate the non-essential information from the main clause.

Analyze Option B

Option B uses a hyphen instead of commas before the appositive. This is inappropriate for setting off non-essential phrases, and there's also a missing comma after "depositions," making it grammatically incorrect.

Analyze Option C

In Option C, the beginning of the appositive phrase and the end is not signaled with commas, and there's a missing comma after "depositions," which makes it the wrong choice.

Analyze Option D

Option D encloses "an often-overlooked occupation of legal services" with commas to indicate it's non-essential information and includes a comma after "depositions," effectively separating items in a series. This grammatical accuracy makes it the best choice.

Key concepts

Grammar Rules

Understanding grammar rules is crucial for mastering any language, especially when tackling exercises like the one outlined above. Grammar rules help us structure our sentences correctly, making our communication clear and precise. The primary rule demonstrated in this exercise is the use of commas for non-essential information. A non-essential element provides extra information but isn't crucial to understanding the primary point of the sentence.

When such non-essential elements, like appositive phrases, are present, they should be enclosed in commas. This rule allows readers to easily differentiate between crucial and additional details. For example, in the sentence "Court reporting, an often-overlooked occupation of legal services, is essential," the phrase "an often-overlooked occupation of legal services" is additional information that enhances understanding but is not necessary for the main assertion. Therefore, the commas are required.

Here are a few key points to remember:

• Use commas to enclose non-essential phrases or clauses.
• Ensure that removing the non-essential information doesn't alter the primary sentence's meaning.
• Always reread the sentence to check that the primary idea stands without the added information.

Sentence Structure

Sentence structure is the way words are organized and arranged in a sentence. It is essential for making sure ideas are communicated clearly and effectively. In the exercise, the focus is on correctly structuring a sentence to incorporate additional information seamlessly. This involves understanding both the core sentence and any supplementary details.

A well-structured sentence should have a clear subject and verb relationship, maintained even when add-ons like appositive phrases are introduced. For instance, the primary sentence "Court reporting is essential to trials" should remain comprehensible even when we weave in the additional information "an often-overlooked occupation of legal services." That's why the sentence structure should allow for these elements to be added without disrupting the main idea.

Below are some helpful guiding principles:

• Identify the main subject and verb before adding extra details.
• Use punctuation, such as commas, to separate additional phrases for clarity.
• Ensure the sentence flows logically from one idea to the next.

Punctuation Usage

Punctuation is the set of symbols that helps dissect and clarify writing by showing how a sentence should be read. Proper punctuation usage is about knowing where and why to place symbols like commas, periods, and hyphens in a sentence.

The exercise underscores the importance of commas. Here, they separate non-essential elements from the core sentence and ensure that lists within a sentence are neatly divided. The correct option ensures that the list "trials, depositions, committee" is punctuated correctly with commas, which is crucial for clarity in reading.

Important aspects of punctuation usage include:

• Place commas around non-essential phrases to make the main sentence clear.
• Use commas to separate items in a list, especially in complex sentences.
• Avoid using inappropriate punctuation marks (like dashes or hyphens) for non-essential clauses.

Understanding these elements of punctuation usage helps immensely in enhancing both written expression and comprehension.